AMINATA “AMI” McLaurin Richards
My name is Aminata Sun McLaurin Richards (Ami) and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as Black/ African American (my father is half Black and half Korean). My Momma, Mariama Richards, was born in Washington D.C., and grew up in DC and Chicago, III. She works as a school administrator and loves to listen to and dance to music. My dad, Garland McLaurin was born/raised in Oklahoma and grew up in Korea & Jacksonville, Florida. He works as a college professor and a documentary filmmaker and he loves to watch different types of media and take long walks. We have a pet cat (staying temporarily) named Cal. As a family, we love to take long drives, build block towers, and have dance parties on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Martha’s Vineyard and our favorite park is the museum park (in PA). We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of kindness and openness to add to the community.
ANASTASIA “Ana” Trifunovic
My name is Anastasia (Ana) and this is my family. We live in Marina del Rey. We identify as white, and our nationality is Serbian. My mom Jelena was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia and grew up in Serbia and Southern California. She works as a floral designer and loves to teach flower design classes. My dad Aleks was born in San Pedro and grew up in Palos Verdes. He works as a commercial real estate broker and loves to play hockey. My siblings’ names are Filip (born 2011) and Milos (born 2014). Filip loves to play with Legos. Milos loves to play with Spider Man. They go to school at Franklin Elementary. As a family, we love to go to the beach, ride bikes, and have dance parties on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Malibu and our favorite park is Douglas Park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of fun times, joy, laughter and flowers to add to the community.
ARYA Shanthi Malhotra
My name is Arya Shanthi Malhotra and this is my family. We live in West Los Angeles. We identify as Indian. My mom, Sonia Malhotra, was born and grew up in Fresno, CA. She is a stay at home mom and part time field instructor with Loyola Marymount. She loves to eat chocolate, exercise, spend time with friends and read books. My dad was born and raised in Hayward, CA. He works as a Municipal Bond Analyst and loves to rock climb, eat chips and watch movies. My sibling’s name is Akash Neil Malhotra, he was born in San Francisco, CA in 2013 and loves to build, swim and play with his friends. He goes to school at Broadway Elementary. As a family we love to play at the beach, go on hikes and travel (pre-Covid) on the weekends. Our favorite place to visit is San Diego and our favorite park is Lindberg Park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gifts of kindness and curiosity to add to the community.
BEI-HAI Chiang
My name is Bei-Hai Chiang and this is my family. We live in the Sawtelle neighborhood. We identify as Chinese. My Daddy, Howard was born in Taipei and grew up in “The Valley”. He works as a dad and with rental properties and loves to read books. My Mama, Lisa was born and raised in Los Angeles. She works as an accountant and a mom and loves to run around with me and nothing else! I am an only child, so I have no brothers or sisters. We have a pet daddy-long-legs spider named Uncle Stephen Spider. As a family, we love to enjoy nature and hanging out with Auntie Jen on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Idyllwild and our favorite park is Stoner Park and Culver City Park because of the skateboard ramps. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of Making (‘cuz we like creating things!) and laughter (‘cuz I like to make jokes and trick people!) to add to the community.
CARY Eun-Byul Lowe
My name is Cary and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as Korean, and my Dad is half Korean, half white (Hapa!). My mother, Theresa was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Cerritos, CA. She works as a Talent Manager and Producer and loves to watch movies, eat sour candy, and plan trips to travel and explore. She loves to eat. My father, Jon, was born in Harbor City, CA and raised in Cerritos, too. He works as a dad, real estate agent and options trader. He loves to play golf and grills a great steak. I have a brother born in 2020 named Teddy. He loves to eat, sleep and grab toys. As a family, we love to try delicious food and ice cream, spend time with friends, laugh, and listen to good music. I make my parents play Wheels On the Bus as much as I can get away with. Our favorite places to visit are Hawaii, New Orleans, London/Paris, any new city really, and these days we enjoy grandma and grandpa’s house. Our favorite parks are Glen Alla, Clover, and Airport Park to watch the planes take off. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of laughter, friendship, an eagerness to help others in the community, and some spicy Korean food.
COLETTE Greene
My name is Colette Greene and this is my family. We live in Playa Vista, and recently moved here from New York City. We identify as Caucasian, with Mexican, Eastern European and Irish heritage. My Mommy, Dominique, was born in Santa Monica and grew up in Venice. She works as a Business Development Director and loves to bake and spend time with her family. My Daddy, Ryan, was born in Phoenix and grew up in Ohio. He works as a Marketing Director and loves to golf, watch sports and be active outdoors. My brother, Charlie, was born in 2019 and loves to play with me and explore new things. As a family, we love to go swimming together on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is my Gaux Gaux (grandmother) and Papa’s (grandfather) house, and our favorite park is Playa Vista Central Park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of creativity to add to the community.
COPPER Deboree
My name is Copper and this is my family. We live in Mandeville. We identify as American. My mama, Amelia was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Hollywood. She works as a mom and loves to cook and make pottery. Baba, Dex was born in England and raised in Florida. He works as a director and loves to write. My sibling, Falcon was born in 2011 and loves to play basketball. He goes to Wildwood Elementary. As a family we love to swim and listen to music on the weekends. Our favorite place to visit is the beach and our favorite park is Crestwood. We are excited to be a part of The New School-West community and we will bring the gifts of Community! Friendship! Laughter! and Play!
DOT Finger
My name is Charlotte Dot Rose Finger and this is my family. We live in Los Angeles. We identify as white. My mom Jocelyn was born and raised in… where mama? (Colorado). She works in the hospital (as a midwife) and loves to work. She also loves to play with us and cuddle (and yoga and hiking). My dad was born and grew up in…? (New Mexico). He works on the computer (digital media for World Surf League) and loves to be happy, surf, love and cuddle. My brother Andrew was born in 2014 in New York and loves to build legos and all sorts of things, play with me, and do gymnastics. He goes to school at Walgrove, but now goes to Alba’s (school pod). We have a dog named Charlie. He loves to bark, eat popcorn and play ball at the park. As a family, we love to go to friends’ houses and eat chocolate chip pancakes on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is the toy store and the beach and Nana’s house (Colorado) and Gran’s house (Hawaii) and Grandpa John’s house (San Juan Island). Our favorite park is Venice Beach Park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of playing, laughing and excitement to add to the community.
EDDIE Kao
My name is Eddie Kao, and this is my family. We live in West LA and identify as Chinese-American and white. My mom, Dana, was born and grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She works as a preschool teacher, and she loves to read. My dad, Jeff, was born and grew up in Naperville, Illinois. He works as a video game designer, and he loves to ride his bike. My brother, Henry, was born in 2013. He loves to build with LEGO. He graduated from New School West in 2018 and is now a 2nd grader at Wildwood. We have a greyhound dog named Tina. As a family, we love to swim, read, play, and ride bikes on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is anywhere (we love to travel!). Our favorite park is Aidan’s Place in Westwood. We are excited to be part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of playfulness to add to the community.
EMMA Alcantara
My name is Emma Alcantara and this is my family. We live in Westchester. We identify as Chinese and Filipino. My mom Jennifer was born and grew up in San Francisco, CA. She works in marketing and loves to read novels. My dad Paul was born and grew up in Cerritos, CA. He works as a chemical engineer and loves to cook. My sister Zoe was born in 2015 and loves to draw. My brother Nico was born in 2019 and loves to dance. Zoe goes to school at St. Mark’s and Nico goes to school at ITLP Mar Vista. As a family, we love to cook together, play in the backyard and go swimming on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is the aquarium and our favorite park is the blue park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of delicious food to add to the community.
EMME Rios
My name is Emme and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as Latina, Latino and White. My Papa Reggie was born in the desert and grew up in New Mexico. He is the Director of Facilities and Operations at Mirman School and loves to do work, paint and build houses. My Mom Brooke was born/raised in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Ohio. She works as the Executive Director at New Los Angeles Charter Schools and loves to paint, spend time reading books and play dinosaurs. We have a pet(s) dog named Rocco. As a family, we love to go camping, climb trees, and play guitar on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is 29 Palms Inn and our favorite park is Kenneth Hahn State Park and the beach. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of a book or a guitar or a painting to add to the community.
EVYN Randall-Sekulich
My name is Evyn Alexandra Randall-Sekulich and this is my family. We live in Los Angeles. My Mommy’s name is Rebecca and she lives between Leimert Park and the University of Southern California. My Mama’s name is Julie Ann and she lives on the border of Mar Vista and West Los Angeles. Half of the time I live with Mommy and half of the time I live with Mama. We identify as caucasian/white Americans who are also part of the human race and world citizens contributing to creating a kind and just global society.Mommy was born in Michigan and lived there until after she graduated from college. She works as a real estate consultant helping people buy and sell houses and she also reimagines houses (that means she buys houses, fixes them up and then sells them again). Before I was born she made documentary movies. She loves Disneyland, wine tasting, mermaids, craftsman architecture, doughnuts, hanging out with friends, going on adventures and being my Mommy.Mama was born in Oregon and lived there until she graduated from high school. She went to college in Rhode Island and then lived in Italy for seven years so she speaks Italian really well. She wanted me to go to a preschool that uses the Reggio approach because she used to work as an interpreter for English-speaking educator tours of the Reggio Children preschools when she lived in Italy. Now she works as a life coach helping people to do things that bring them joy that they used to think were “impossible.” She also helps people to borrow money to buy or refinance their homes as a mortgage loan originator and to buy and sell houses as a Realtor. Sometimes she also helps pregnant moms when they are in labor and giving birth to their babies or soon after they give birth as a doula. She loves traveling (especially outside the US), dancing, singing, camping, sleeping under the stars, hiking, running, swimming, doing yoga, being creative (we like to do art projects together), learning new things, eating Thai and Indian food and being my Mama.I hope that I will have a little sister or brother sometime soon so we can play together. We don’t have any pets yet.On weekends we love to go to the beach, children’s museums, the zoo, the aquarium, the YMCA (for swimming and dance classes), a splash pad, a park or a friend’s house. On Sundays we usually go to services at Agape but right now we watch Agape’s services on the computer. We have annual passes for Disneyland and California Adventure, so we go there frequently when they are open. Sometimes Mama and I go camping in our tent. Our favorite places to travel include Michigan (where Mommy’s family lives), San Jose (where Mama’s mom Grammie lives), Las Vegas (where Mama’s Dad Grampa Jim and his partner Grampa Bob live, Italy (I’ve been twice), Big Bear (Mommy’s friends Katie and Alex and their son Liam have a house there), any place we have friends to visit and any place we haven’t been yet! Our favorite parks include Aiden’s Place in Westwood Park, Shane’s Inspiration & the trails of Griffith Park, Stoner Park, Mar Vista Recreation Center and the parks in Playa Vista.We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gifts of joy, enthusiasm, optimism, glittery sparkly creativity and connection to add to the community.
JACK Lazarus
My name is Jack Arthur Lazarus and this is my family! We live in Venice Beach, California and identify as White and Hispanic. My Mommy’s name is Michelle. She was born and raised in San Jose, California and brings Bolivian culture to our family. She works as a professional snack maker, snuggler, fitness instructor, and small business owner and loves to go on new adventures with us and spend time with friends. My Daddy Pete was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. He brings Jewish traditions to our family and works as a Filmmaker and loves to wrestle, swim, cook, watch movies, and surf waves with us. My sibling’s names are Arrow and Alma, they were born in the years 2014 and 2018 and love to eat pops, play house, and go swimming with me. My sister Arrow used to go to NSW but now she’s at Wildwood Elementary and is entering the first grade. Alma is not old enough for school yet and gets to stay home and play while I’m at New School West. We have a pet dog named Gus who is 12 years old and likes to go everywhere with us. As a family, we love to take bike rides and go to the beach on the weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Big Sur and San Simeon to play in the river and watch the elephant seals, and our favorite park is Rustic Canyon because you can climb the trees and take the secret path. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we bring the gift of laughter, imagination, and school spirit to the community.
LEO Kirschenbaum
My name is Leandro “Leo” Kirschenbaum and this is my family. We live in Venice Beach. We identify as homo-sapiens. My Mama, Tenaya, was born in Chico and grew up in Paradise, CA. She works as a small business owner and loves to dance, salsa, bake, play tennis, and make delicious cocktails. My papa Mike was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA., and works as a tech start-up sales guy and loves to watch sports, go on hikes, cook, read. My brother, Rafael was born in 2020 and loves to sleep, eat, and poop! We have a pet dog named Billie. As a family, we love to take walks, go to the beach, make pizza, get our wiggles out on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Hawaii, Joshua Tree, Martha’s Vineyard, and our favorite park is Penmar and Douglas. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of a fun, boogie-down family that can mix up a good cocktail to add to the community.
LEON McDermott
My name is Leon McDermott and this is my family. We live in Del Rey. We identify as People with notes of South African Jewish and Italian American culture. My Mom, who I call “Mimi”, is named Brie and was born in New York and grew up there. She works as the Marketing Director for my Dad’s company, Linus Bike and loves to go for long walks, listen to podcasts, read about earth sciences, and prior to COVID, see live music and entertain friends at our home. My Dad, Adam was born in Johannesburg and grew up in Malibu and Cape Town. He is the Founder of Linus Bike and loves to cook, garden, make furniture, surf and read the New Yorker. We have a dog named Benny. My Granny Sally, and her dog Molly, live close by and are usually with us. As a family, we love to go to the beach, dance and listen to music, spend lots of time cooking, and of course, go on family bike rides. Our favorite place to visit, lately, is the beach and the Santa Monica Airport to watch the planes take off. Our favorite park is Culver West. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of positivity, laughter, and maybe my dad’s bread & granola soon, to add to the community.
LUKA Madigan
My name is Luka and this is my family. We live in Venice Beach. We identify as Global Citizens. My mama, Lana was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and grew up in former Yugoslavia, was a war refugee in Munich, Germany, and an immigrant in Prague, Czech Republic. She works as a Film Development Executive and loves to play sports, make pottery, and cook yummy food with me. My daddy, James was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in London, Paris, Rome, and Prague. He works as a Film Director and loves to paint, garden, and play guitar with me. As a family, we love to bike to the beach on weekends where we swim in the big waves, build race tracks, and chase birds. Our favorite place to visit is ‘The Hundred Acre Wood’ (also known as Temescal Canyon) and our favorite park is Burton Chase where we can ride our bikes and scooters, see planes take off, wave to the boats, and say hi to the seals. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of a lifelong friendship to add to the community.
MARCEL Quintela
My name is Marcel Quintela and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We are a Cuban/Italian family. My Mommy Lisa is from New York City and grew up in Miami, Florida. She’s a TV and Film writer, and also a lawyer. She loves to cook, dance and hike. My Mama Genna is from New York City and grew up in Connecticut. She works as an exec at Amazon Studios and loves to bake, play soccer, and go to the beach. My sister Gia was born in 2015 and graduated from NSW in 2020. She loves to build with Legos and draw pictures. As a family, we love to go swimming, hiking, to the beach, or just hang out in our backyard and BBQ on weekends. Our favorite places to visit are Miami, FL, and North Carolina, where our extended family lives, and our favorite park is Glenn Alla park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of our Latinx culture and friendship to add to the community.
MARLEY Mathews
My name is Marley Matthews and we live in Venice. We identify as white. My mommy, Heather was born and raised in Indianapolis. She works as a designer and restauranteur and loves to travel. My daddy, Jake was born and raised in LA. He works as a real estate developer and restauranteur. He loves to listen to live music. We have a pet dog named Indie. As a family we love to take bike rides on the beach on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Underwood Family Farm’s strawberry patch and our favorite park is Clover Park. We are excited to be part of The New School-West family and bring the gifts of music, art and bring the gift of Marley’s vegan, gluten free, peanut butter cookies!
OLIVIA Yungfleisch
My name is Olivia Jean Yungfleisch and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as white. My dad Justin was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Mill Valley, CA. He works as an Executive Producer and loves to ride his bike and work around the house. My mom Kimberly was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She works as a Development Consultant and loves to spend as much time outdoors as possible. We have a cat named Daisy. As a family, we love to got to the beach, the mountains and play at home on weekends. Our favorite place to visit in LA is the Museum of Natural History and our favorite park is Culver West. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of love, kindness, curiosity and the yet to be discovered to this community.
OONA Rivera
My name is Oona Bea Rylee Rivera, and this is my family. We identify as Souls, and we are a multi-racial family (my dad is Hispanic, my mother is White). Ramon, my dad, was born and raised in Venice, where we live. He works as an electrician at CBS Television City. He loves to ride his bike around town, just like he did when he was a kid. My mom, Rebekah, was born in Vermont and grew up in Africa, Europe and Hawaii. She is a Yoga and Meditation facilitator, who loves authentic connection. I have three smelly, old—totally awesome bulldogs: Ham, Bessie and Juan Pablo. As a family, it doesn’t matter much what we are doing—we just enjoy doing it together; whether it’s biking, going for a walk, an adventure, swimming or simply sitting in the grass enjoying the world around us—being—is our pace and rhythm. We are excited to be part of The New School West community and look forward to soaking in the simplicity and beauty of life with all of you!
SATURN Stanfield
My name is Saturn and this is my family. We live in Los Angeles and identify as Black. My dad, LaKeith was born in San Bernardino and grew up in The Inland Empire. He works as an artist and actor and loves to be creative. My mom, Xosha was born and raised in South Los Angeles. She works as an actress and artist and loves to talk. As a family, we love to be playful and act silly on the weekends. Our favorite place to visit is the movies and our favorite park is Descanso Gardens We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we bring the gift of open-mindedness, creativity, and culture.
SPENCER Urich
My name is Spencer Urich and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as white. My mommy, Barbara, was born in Torrance, California and grew up in Palos Verdes, California. She works as an actor and nursing student and loves to sing, bake, go for walks and read books. My daddy, Justin, was born in Manhattan, New York. and grew up in Manhattan and Studio City. He works as a restaurant owner and loves to cook, listen to Reggae music, and go boating. My sibling’s name is Cyrus. He was born in the year 2014 and loves to boogie board, ski and play bakugans. He goes to school at Mar Vista Elementary School. We have a pet dog named Angus. As a family, we love to go the beach, swim at Nanny and Dzedo’s (Grandma and Grandpa’s) and have dinner with our cousins on weekends. Our favorite places to visit are Disneyland and Catalina and our favorite parks are Mar Vista and Glen Alla. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of food and dance parties to add to the community.
WESLEY Michie
My name is Wesley Michie and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as caucasian, American. My father, TJ, was born and raised in Virginia. He works as a sales manager at Neat and loves to fly fish. My mother, Jessica, we born in Los Gatos and raised in California. She works as a sales manager and loves to spend time outdoors. My sister’s name is Hayes and she was born in 2014 and loves to dance and sing. She goes to the UCLA Lab School. We have dogs named Jackson and Midas. As a family, we love to hike, camp, and go to the beach on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Jackson Hole and our favorite park is Kenneth Hahn. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of singing, cooking, and telling silly jokes to add to the community.
WILEY Stavros Myers
My name is Wiley Stavros Myers and this is my family. We live in California. We identify as Canadian and American and a little bit Greek. My momma (Petroula) was born/raised in California… nooooo Canada and grew up in my belly. She works at her office and she loves to eat breakfast. My daddy (Shelby) was born/raised in Califixaaa and grew up in a foot. He works to sell cars and loves to drive really cool fast cars. We have two pet fish named Fish and Gold. As a family, we love to hang out with each other on weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Aunt Jessie’s and our favorite park is the boat and water park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of a cool toy car to add to the community.
ZOE Kotek
My name is Zoe Kotek and this is my family. We live in Mar Vista. We identify as humans – to be more specific, Caucasian Jews. My mommy, Liz, was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in the city. She works as an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist and loves to garden, hike, and play with Sam and me. My daddy, Elliot, was born in Melbourne, Australia, and grew up in St. Kilda. He produces documentaries on social innovation and loves to swim, grill, and hang out with my bro and me. My brother’s name is Sam. He was born on October 15th, 2012. He loves to play Pokemon and other card games and really loves to swim in the pool and ocean. I think he is part fish. He goes to Wish Charter. We also have a pet cat named Callie. As a family, we love to go to the beach, the pool and just play around in our back yard on the weekends. Our favorite place to visit is Australia and our favorite park is Wade park, our neighborhood park. We are excited to be a part of the NSW family and we will bring the gift of vegemite and wombat stories (my dad made me write that) to add to the community.